The Engineering Contractor is, broadly speaking, the civilian equivalent of the crew Engineer, and most things that apply to Engineers apply to the Engineering Contractor. It is a wide-ranging job covering everything from entry-level Engineering personnel just learning the ropes to highly specialized contracted personnel hired to maintain specific, complicated subsystems on board the Torch.

As part of the Engineering department, the Engineering Contractor answers to the Chief Engineer and Senior Engineer. The Chief Engineer is the ultimate authority in the department, but the Senior Engineer is responsible for seeing that the Chief Engineer's orders are carried out, and they are generally also the most experienced and highest-ranking of the rank-and-file Engineering staff.

The Role

As mentioned, the Engineering Contractor is essentially a civilian equivalent to the Engineer, and will normally be treated as such, though some personnel will assume that the Engineering Contractor is less knowledgeable or experienced than the standard Engineering staff. This can make the position an ideal entry point into the department if the player wishes to seek assistance and instruction from other, more experienced personnel. This does not mean that all Engineering Contractors are necessarily less experienced, however.

The Engineering Contractor also has a variety of alternate job titles available, each of which indicates a different area of specialization. Mechanics are focused on construction work, with possible experience in electrician work and repairing things like prosthetics and robots. Supermatter Specialists are generally focused on the Supermatter Engine, and will often concern themselves with ensuring that it is both as stable and as efficient as possible, increasing the ships's available power supply as much as safely possible. Information Systems Technicians are generally concerned with the repair and maintenance of computer systems aboard the Torch, though they may also be asked to repair Telecommunications by the Chief Engineer, at their discretion.